The Essence of Time
by bfungus
Summary: Time was never an issue, that is, until he met her.


He never really kept track of time until he met her.

Just until recently, the most predominant thought on his mind was what his next job would be so he could acquire another shiny 5 yen coin to add to his ever (slowly) growing collection and that was fine. He was fine. So long as people continued to think about him and pray to him, he was fine with the life he was living. It was easy, it was fun, it was _so_ _simple_. So what if he was doing random small jobs? So what if he didn't really have a true purpose yet? He was getting there damn it and that was all that mattered.

But then she crashed (literally) into his life and his whole world and perspective had changed.

It wasn't instantaneous, mind you, it was slow and he was stubborn because he would _not_ let this _girl_ (she was 14 for goodness sakes how in the world could she be so mature and strong and everything he wasn't) just mosey on into his life. He was a god and she was a mortal and no matter which way you looked at it, gods and mortals do not intermingle. They just don't and he knew that.

He fucking _knew_ that.

But Iki Hiyori…

Iki Fucking Hiyori was just too damn special for him to cut away. That link became way too precious for him to bear to let go. It physically ached if he ever thought about it for too long because she had somehow wormed her way into his life, his world, his –

_Heart_.

It didn't click in his mind at first.

There was a good amount of time where he thought it could continue on like this forever. Him, her, and begrudgingly Yukine, but that was how it was supposed to be. That's how he was meant to live his long glorious life. She was supposed to be by his side for eternity and it was supposed to be perfect.

And then …

"Hmm, I think I've decided to finally get my own place," she had said one day, so offhandedly that it didn't register in his head as important information until she had poked him in the arm in order to get a response out of him.

Hey, he was drinking a can of beer and slightly daydreaming (okay, completely daydreaming) on a place as comfortable as her bed, what did you expect?

However, the moment he was jolted out of his thoughts and her words actually made sense in his mind, his head whipped to face hers, brows furrowing in confusion.

"Wha – why?" was the only logical response he could form at the time.

She gave him a look of half disbelief and half amusement before chuckling lightly, shaking her head at him and giving him that typical "you're an idiot" sigh she does so often.

"Yato, I'm 19 now. Don't you think I should move out and actually start living on my own? I can't rely on my parents forever." She smiled at him softly, and usually that smile would make him feel like he was the highest god there was on Earth.

But it didn't.

It made him feel like utter shit. There was no _way_ she was 19. And yes, she _could_ rely on her parents forever because that's the way it'd always been. Nothing was supposed to change. He was supposed to be able to come over for as long as he wanted and steal her dad's collection of beer because that was normal. It'd been normal for the past 5 years.

…has it really been _five_ years?

Five years since this insane, idiotic, overprotective, loyal, beautiful, _perfect_ girl entered his life? Or is he supposed to start calling her a _woman_ now?

But he can't. He can never view Iki Hiyori as any more than that stupid, bumbling 14 year old girl who was selfless enough to slam into his body that fateful day to save _him_, a _god_. Who does that anyway? Who actually saves someone that, for one thing, they're not even supposed to _see_? _She_ does.

And it didn't hit him until now that she's _growing_ and he's…not.

She's going to leave him one day and the gravity of the situation hit him all at once because this protective, loyal, beautiful, perfect person is going to disappear from the Earth and there is _nothing_ he can do to stop it.

What good is it being a god if he can't even protect the person he lo –

…

No.

_No._

There is no fucking way that he has fallen in l –

He's not even sure how he looks to her right now, but that is the farthest thing on his mind because the only thought running through his head is the fact that he's fallen in _love_ with _her_. Stupid, selfless, loyal, _perfect Iki Hiyori_.

How did he even – _why_ didn't he catch himself? _Why_ couldn't he be smart enough to actually do the one thing he wasn't supposed to ever do? A mortal and a god as friends was one thing, but as _lovers_? If she would even have him that is. _Fuck_ what if she didn't love him back? What if –

"Yato?" Her smooth voice cut like a razor blade through his racing thoughts, and his head abruptly shifted to meet hers. Her large doe eyes blinked at him in shock before softening into confusion. "Are you okay?" she pressed gently, and he had to breathe in deeply just to calm his speeding heart. _Fuck she was __**beautiful**__._

But he couldn't tell her that. He couldn't do or say anything about whatever was on his mind right now. There was no way she could ever find out. No way she could ever _know_.

What was he even supposed to do though? Hell, what was he even supposed to say _right now_ when she's looking at him with that cute expression of concern?

"I –" His eyes glanced at his can of beer, lifting it up with a sheepish look on his face, "I ran out of beer?"

As expected, her expression immediately darkened and he registered the pain of her karate chop before realizing that she had just hit him again.

"OF COURSE!" she yelled out, her screams dying slightly as she stomped her way out of her bedroom. "Of _course_ the moment I start talking about a serious topic, his mind wanders and thinks about _BEER_ of ALL things! That useless son of a –"

Picking himself up from his fallen (and embarrassing) position, Yato watched as she turned the corner and made her way down the stairs, her voice carrying less and less through the halls. His eyes softened, knowing that she'd forgive him eventually. Smiling lightly, he brought his linked hands to the back of his head and lied back down onto her bed.

Hiyori's growing. He doesn't like it, but what is he supposed to do? Leave? Hah! Been there, done that. Thinking back on it now, he wondered why he never saw it sooner, saw how quickly he had fallen for her. Maybe then, this revelation would've come a lot sooner.

For now though, he'll appreciate every moment he can spend with her, because if he thinks about _this_ anymore, he's pretty sure his immortal heart will break.

However, no matter what the risk, he knows he can never leave her. It's not even a question. For now, he will continue to stay by her side for as long as she will have him. That's all he really _can_ do now.

Time was never an issue for him.

But now that he's met _her_ –

Time is his enemy.

Because it will continue to steal his most precious person away from him one second at a time for as long as she will live.

* * *

AN: I hope this broke your heart in two :D Reviews are always appreciated (:


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